The rivalry between Bastjaniżi FM and Leħen il-Belt Ġorġjana, until a week ago, used to be much worse than that between Media.Link and One Productions.

Damian Agius' and Alfred Stellini's tragic deaths changed all this when, last Wednesday, their funeral was broadcast simultaneously from both stations, in a tangible illustration of solidarity. The echoes of what happened last Wednesday at 3 p.m. must not be allowed to fade away into the ether. One hopes that this spirit will permeate into other media, especially that which relies on paparazzi-type and biased reports for copy.

The above was especially evident in the way the 'walk-out' at the rehearsals for the Eurosong Festival was covered.

Before the rehearsals had even begun, rumours had been flying about the pizzazz each team was planning in order to grab the prize. Some let it be known on social networking sites that they were having what used to be called 'foreign interference' - as if having a 100 per cent local product would somehow make them 'inferior'.

I am informed that a letter was sent to a particular songwriter indicating that the rules state, unequivocally, that a team may only be made up of six people, be they singers and/or dancers, and that UKAM was also informed of this. And yet the 'protest' happened.

Just like the musician who overlays recordings of himself playing different instruments because he cannot play them simultaneously, someone came up with the idea that 'backing vocals' could well be interpreted as 'harmonies sung by the same person'. To add insult to (the other performers') injury (to one's own reputation), someone else agreed with this.

Fortunately, a correct interpretation of the rules was later given - and, I ask, how could a singer have backed while singing live at Oslo, if playback is not allowed, and any backing tracks have to be clean of voices?

There was also a trio that willy-nilly became a quartet with three backing vocals.

UKAM, quite rightly, bridled, and promptly issued a press release. Without mentioning any names, UKAM insisted that it wants everyone to abide by the regulations, and to stop playing the victim when ruses do not go as planned.

Meanwhile, other performers and artists who knew that hitherto, everyone had agreed to the rules and regulations that were now being blatantly broken, were not pleased at the way things were going. This might have led to suspicions that the winner had already been surreptitiously chosen, but giving comments to the media before the actual result was out would have branded those who did it as 'bad losers'.

Because of the bad attitude of some, there had to be another rehearsal on Thursday evening, when people might have had other appointments planned.

All this puerility makes me even more convinced that PBS should, as from next year, begin organising an International Festival of Malta, with foreign singers having to apply to be able to come and sing here unless they are not on the guest list.

This would advertise us as the Jewel of the Mediterranean even more efficiently than sending one singer (usually!) does.

Meanwhile, I am happy to say I have been vindicated twice over. When I first heard Thea sing (as Maria in a West Side Story adaptation for a school concert) I had said she was Eurovision material (whatever that means!). Then, when I saw her makeover, I was pulling Ira Losco's leg and telling her she had a clone.

I would like to suggest that the Bird Man be removed from the act, which does not need such frippery. If it is to remain, there must be a more subtle cue for him to do his phoenix thing than Thea's eyes rolling towards the curtain.

Enterprises trying to set up shop in the local television arena are apparently bearing the brunt of what happened with Family TV. It is no longer enough to have human, technical and financial resources. Despite the fact that there is no such thing as a monopoly obtaining, costs for services tend to mount up due to a lack of competition. The studies are carried out with one eye on marketability. We have come to the stage where 'liberalisation' means you have to subscribe to two service providers in order to watch all local television stations. For such a tiny country, this is ridiculous.

It was lovely to see that the choice of Kanzunetta Bi Ħsieb Warajha on Sunday night's Solidarjetà (Radju Malta) was Ira Losco's Don't Look Back. This is a commendable part of the trend on Radju Malta where the number of Maltese songs played as intervals between segments of programmes, or when there would otherwise be dead air, is increasing.

If one never misses a particular programme, one is bound to heed the 'suggestions' of the presenter and vote for it in the forthcoming Vodafone Malta Television Awards.

However, I have no doubt the fact that some selections come with a carrot (read a prize) attached to them, may have some bearing on the decisions of some people. Seeing that some people's budgets do not stretch to this, I have to ask whether this is fair.

Errata corrige: (1) A fortnight ago this column was edited to read 'Portelli' instead of 'Peppi'; any inconvenience caused is regretted. (2) Last week's column referred to the '50 listeners' rather than '50 callers' commonly received by presenters during the course of a programme.

television@timesofmalta.com